Ukraine Resumes Russian Refinery Strikes as Zelenskyy Says Trump Betrayed Him

Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared an end to Kyiv’s brief pause in strikes on energy facilities, saying Russia had continued attacking Ukraine despite US President Donald Trump’s call for an energy ceasefire.

A Ukrainian drone strike on Thursday, October 15, sparked a fire at a Rosneft oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region, about 300 kilometres southeast of Moscow, according to Russian officials. A senior Ukrainian official confirmed that Ukraine had hit the facility, while the full extent of the damage remained unclear.

The attack followed Trump’s announcement that Russia and Ukraine should halt attacks on energy infrastructure. However, the arrangement was not a formally agreed ceasefire between both sides, and Kyiv said Moscow had continued launching missiles and drones at Ukrainian energy facilities during the pause.

“The block is out. We’re done,” Zelenskyy told the Financial Times, signalling that Ukraine would resume targeting Russian refineries. He said Russia’s continued bombardment had exhausted Kyiv’s patience, while Ukrainian authorities reported widespread power disruptions following Russian sstrikes.

The Ukrainian president has also voiced growing frustration with Trump, saying he felt betrayed by the US president’s approach to the war. In an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, Zelenskyy cited Trump’s dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the energy ceasefire announcement and restrictions affecting Ukraine’s use of the US-backed Starlink satellite communications system.

Zelenskyy argued that the developments risk weakening Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian attacks. The Trump administration, however, has said it wants to end the war, and Trump has maintained that both Zelenskyy and Putin want the conflict to stop.

Trump criticised Ukraine’s renewed refinery attacks, calling them a “disgrace” and arguing that strikes on facilities producing diesel could push global oil prices higher. He also said he found Zelenskyy more difficult to deal with than Putin.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, criticised Ukraine’s decision to resume attacks, describing the strikes as contrary to US-led peace efforts. Russian President Putin played down the impact of Ukraine’s long-range attacks, saying they had caused no particularly significant damage, although the consequences of individual strikes could not be independently verified.

The worsening dispute comes as Russia continues a major aerial campaign against Ukrainian infrastructure. The Associated Press reported that Russian attacks on nine Ukrainian regions on Friday caused emergency power outages affecting hundreds of thousands of households and injured at least 15 people, according to Ukrainian officials.

Zelenskyy is seeking stronger support from European partners as uncertainty grows over the future of US assistance. The collapse of the energy pause adds another obstacle to diplomatic efforts to stop the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.